Quant Insight’s Risk Indicator just hit +3.2σ. Welcome to the club. 

MFERM’s total risk forecast for SPY — expressed as a rolling 50-day z-score — surged to +3.24 by Friday close. 

This puts us in an exclusive club. Since 2017, every breach of the upper band has coincided with a significant market event: 

Feb 2018 (+6.3σ) — Volmageddon 

Mar 2020 (+5.0σ) — COVID crash 

Mar 2021 (+3.2σ) — Rates tantrum 

Apr 2024 (+3.6σ) — Tariff tremors 

Aug 2024 (+4.6σ) — Yen carry unwind / VIX blow-up 

Apr 2025 (+5.0σ) — Liberation Day 

Mar 2026 (+3.2σ) — Iran Crisis 

Peak macro fear = peak opportunity. The question is whether +3.2σ is the peak, or still in the foothills. At +3.2σ today, we’re roughly 70% of the way to the average peak of +4.6σ. 

Continue reading our analysis by downloading the PDF below

Author
Amit Khanna

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